I-Team: Former Terrebonne Parish sheriff's spending habits questioned

Former sheriff claims no wrongdoing while in office

A hefty budget surplus is gone, legal fees that some consider excessive and a $300,000 boat, which is considered useless by emergency responders are all drawing concerns about how a former south Louisiana sheriff managed millions of dollars.

Records show that in 50 months, from the summer of 2008 through the summer of 2012, Bourgeois paid an outside law firm more than $800,000.

On average, that’s almost $17,000 a month. However, the records show on a half-dozen separate occasions, Bourgeois spend more than $20,0000 in a single month on outside legal fees. The most costly month was in September of 2008. Nearly $30,000 were spent on outside legal services.

The I-Team compared the figures with other parishes and found they spend less on legal fees.

Neighboring Lafourche Parish, which is similar in size, averages about $5,500 a month. Washington Parish, with a much smaller population, spends about $5,000 a month on outside legal fees.

St. Bernard Parish, which is also a smaller parish compared to Terrebonne Parish, spends about $10,000 a month.

Records show the firm contracted by Bourgeois, is the Dodd Law Firm based in Houma. The firm’s website shows two lawyers work there – Bill Dodd and his son, Seth.

In 2008, Bill Dodd held news conferences and served as a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.

Dodd declined to comment on camera with WDSU, but did say that all work done by his firm was properly documented and billed.

Larpenter said Bourgeois used the attorney for more work than needed.

“The previous sheriff allowed him to do his job and if you are the attorney for the sheriff you need to be the sheriff and not doing the sheriff's work,” Larpenter said.

Security expert Mike Cahn said while Larpenter deems some legal fees, boats and a whittled-down budget are problematic, auditors may not see it that way.

“It's good to have auditors come in for the taxpayers sake, so they know what they are getting for their money,” Cahn said. “As long as it stays in that tunnel, per se, of doing it for law enforcement means, you're fine -- it's when it becomes gross misspending and buying things that may not be deemed necessary for law enforcement of government that you have issues.”

Bourgeois declined an on-camera interview with WDSU, but said that he did nothing wrong when he was in office and said he questions some of the numbers being presented by Larpenter when it comes to the former budget surplus.

Bourgeois said he is confident a full legislative audit will prove that.

Larpenter said the auditors are also going through the finances of the reality show “Cajun Justice,” which aired for one season in 2011.

A Mexican photojournalist who left the state he worked in because of threats was among five people found shot to death in a Mexico City apartment this weekend, officials and press freedom advocacy groups said.